This Millennial Saved $100,000 in 3 Years and Now He’s Traveling the World

Genius EmilySeptember 4, 2017

From pennies to $100,000. New Zealand native, Richard Meadows started off stuck in a rut like many millennials, living paycheck to paycheck. But in 3 short years, he has turned his life around. He now travels the world writing a financial blog and is offering up his tips on how you can do the same.

When Your Net Worth Is a Negative Number

Back in 2013, business journalist Richard Meadows decided to calculate his net worth. It wasn’t what he was hoping for, “I was 22 years old, with less than a cent to my name” he says. Despite having a full-time job and monthly income, any saving and assets he had were wiped out by debt.

But during this rock bottom point, he found inspiration. He says, “After heaps of research and some trial and error, I came across the less-traveled path to financial success.”

The New Zealander began reading about early retirement and financial independence. It was time to get serious about saving. On his blog, Deep Dish, he lists the 100-small lifestyle tweaks he used to save over half his income.

Money Saving, Life Changing

After 3 years, and with $100,000 in the bank Meadows handed in his notice at work and booked a one-way ticket to Bangkok. He has been traveling and blogging ever since.

Meadows says, “I don’t have a proper job, but my bank balance recently hit six figures.” And, “For the first time in my life, I have absolute freedom to only pursue the things that interest me.”

Meadows told CNBC his best tip for making it rich is tracking your net worth. Calling it the “number one tool for real financial success”, he says having this kind of financial measure allows you to track your progress, so you can keep it moving in the right direction.

On his blog, Meadows offers up a spreadsheet so that you can do the same. Meadows says, “Every month I got a little buzz out of seeing the number climb higher and higher.” He set a goal of $100k, and once it was met he left the 9-5 world and moved overseas.

Smart Investments

He says, “The cool thing about money is that once you have enough of it, it starts making more money all by itself.” Now, he invests in various ventures and does some freelance writing for extra income.

His savings have even allowed him to help out his friends by investing in their burger restaurant, which he says, is doing really well. It seems like his riches are contagious!